BLUE EYE SAMURAI...And The Archaeology Behind It

Abstract: This is a video aiming to present some brief Archaeological backgrounds of the metallurgy production in Edo period Japan (1603-1868) and with references at points to the recent Netflix series, Blue Eye Samurai. In the beginning I have edited an opening of various scenes of the practice of swordsmanship from the anime and a few other scenes shot by myself of the Samurai collection at the British Museum. In the main body of this video, I firstly present some social background around the class of the samurai and its tension with the newly developed monetised economy, seeing the rise of the merchant class. I also mention the transition of the swords practice originally from the battlefields to those in the schools of swordsmanship to train mentality and physicality. In the next part of the video, I aim to explore a little bit of the management of iron production and the manufacture process of a samurai sword, with brief details in the materials use of sword making shown as well. Finally, I conclude with the saying of “the sword is the soul of a samurai” to end the video with the spiritual meaning of this meaningful and delicate object. References: Birk, S.K. (2006) Sex, androgyny, prostitution and the development of onnagata roles in Kabuki Theatre, ScholarWorks at University of Montana. Available at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/3537?utm_source=scholarworks.umt.edu%2Fetd%2F3537&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages (Accessed: 13 January 2024). KATAYAMA, H., KITAMURA, T. and TAKAHASHI, I. (2005) ‘Development of management of Tatara Iron Making at Oku-Izumo in Edo Era’, Tetsu-to-Hagane, 91(1), pp. 122–126. doi:10.2355/tetsutohagane1955.91.1_122. Kugiya, N. et al. (2013) ‘Technique of manufacturing Kozane steel sheets used for Kusazuri armature in the Edo period’, Journal of the Japan Institute of Metals and Materials, 77(8), pp. 318–327. doi:10.2320/jinstmet.j2013009. Mattner, M. (2019). Three Treasures in One Blade: Thoughts on a Rare Form of the Japanese Sword. In L. Deutscher, M. Kaiser, & S. Wetzler (Eds.), The Sword: Form and Thought (NED-New edition, pp. 155–166). Boydell & Brewer. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvfrxrbx.18 Noizumi, A. and Green, M. (2023) Watch Blue Eye Samurai: Netflix official site, Watch BLUE EYE SAMURAI | Netflix Official Site. Available at: https://www.netflix.com/title/81144203 (Accessed: 13 January 2024). SHIMAZAKI, S. (2020) ‘PRESENTING THE PAST: Edo Kabuki and the Creation of Community’, in Edo Kabuki in transition: From the worlds of the samurai to the vengeful female ghost. COLUMBIA UNIV Press. Sugioka, N., Kitada, M. and Nishijima, M. (2013) ‘Metallurgical microstructure of the spear blade manufactured from the end of the Muromachi period to the edo period’, Journal of the Japan Institute of Metals and Materials, 77(5), pp. 185–191. doi:10.2320/jinstmet.j2012069. 古刀・新刀・新々刀・現代刀. 刀剣ワールド 東京. Available at: https://www.tokyo-touken-world.jp/knowledge-of-sword/koto-gendaito/ (Accessed: 13 January 2024). 日本传统节日-快乐欢快的伴奏. 日本 - 免费商用_cc协议配乐_背景音乐 免费下载 - 爱给网. Available at: https://www.aigei.com/s?q=%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC&type=cc_music (Accessed: 13 January 2024).